Iran Launches First Domestically Made Destroyer
This past Friday, Iran’s Navy took the delivery of the first indigenously designed and developed guided missile destroyer Jamaran in the presence of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
The Mowdge Class vessel has a displacement of around 1,420 tonnes and is equipped with modern radars and electronic warfare capabilities.
Jamaran, a multi-mission destroyer, can carry 120-140 personnel on board and is armed with a variety of anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles. It has a top speed of up to 30 knots and has a helipad. It also features highly advanced anti-aircraft, anti-surface and anti-subsurface systems. The vessel has also been equipped with torpedoes and modern naval cannons.
The destroyer’s launch marks a major technological leap for Iran’s naval industries. Iran said that the manufacture of Jamaran and the missile boat Paykan were among the greatest achievements of the Iranian Navy and the destroyer’s launch marks a major technological leap for Iran’s naval industries. More ships in its class are under construction.
State television also showed footage of the vessel and the ceremony at which it was launched by Khamenei flanked by the top Iranian military commanders.
Much of Iran’s naval equipment dates from before the 1979 Islamic revolution and is U.S. made. Since the revolution, Tehran has purchased a number of Russian-made submarines.
In the past year Iranian navy has carried out a number of missions in the Gulf of Aden and offshore Somalia where it was commissioned to escort Iranian merchant ships and oil tankers.
Tehran is enriching uranium, which many Western countries and Israel fear is a step toward manufacturing an atomic bomb. Tehran rejects such charges, saying its nuclear program is entirely peaceful. On Thursday, the U.N. atomic watchdog expressed concern that Iran might have been trying to develop a nuclear warhead. On Feb. 19, Iran dismissed the concern as “baseless.”
Iran is under U.N. sanctions for failing to obey Security Council resolutions demanding that it halt enrichment. Neither the United States nor Israel have ruled out military action if it does not eventually do so.
Good News on Icelandic Cod Stocks
Iceland’s influential Marine Research Institute (MRI) has recently published an encouraging new report on the country’s cod stocks, the most crucial fishery for Iceland’s economy and European fish processing markets.
The MRI research has found that the 2008 cod stock was the strongest it has been since annual research trips began in the autumn of 1996.
Icelandic fishing quotas are usually based on Marine Research Institute findings which are always rigidly enforced, given the importance of fishing to the Icelandic economy. Two years ago Iceland dramatically slashed its cod quota to the dismay of fish markets in Britain and elsewhere, but last year some of that cut back was restored.
The Institute has released the final report on its autumn 2008 research mission which suggests that the cod stock last year might well have been higher than the long-term average since 1955. The fish are also larger in size, but it is too early to know if this encouraging news this will lead to further catch quota increases later this year.
The findings have surprised many observers since cod consumption is on the increase in Europe and North America and is in demand by emerging economies like China. Fishing technology has also improved which means that trawlers are far more efficient than a few decades ago. The increase in cod stocks can also be attributed to restricted fishing quotas in recent years aimed at saving the declining fish stock.
Science Team Finds Subtropical Waters Flushing Through Greenland Fjord
Recent changes in ocean circulation in the North Atlantic are delivering larger amounts of subtropical waters to the high latitudes. A research team led by Fiamma Straneo, a physical oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, found that subtropical waters are reaching Greenland's glaciers, driving melting and likely triggering an acceleration of ice loss. Melting ice also means more fresh water in the ocean, which could flood into the North Atlantic and disrupt a global system of currents, known as the Ocean Conveyor. (Credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Waters from warmer latitudes — or subtropical waters — are reaching Greenland’s glaciers, driving melting and likely triggering an acceleration of ice loss, reports a team of researchers led by Fiamma Straneo, a physical oceanographer from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
“This is the first time we’ve seen waters this warm in any of the fjords in Greenland,” says Straneo. “The subtropical waters are flowing through the fjord very quickly, so they can transport heat and drive melting at the end of the glacier.”
Greenland’s ice sheet, which is two-miles thick and covers an area about the size of Mexico, has lost mass at an accelerated rate over the last decade. The ice sheet’s contribution to sea level rise during that time frame doubled due to increased melting and, to a greater extent, the widespread acceleration of outlet glaciers around Greenland.
While melting due to warming air temperatures is a known event, scientists are just beginning to learn more about the ocean’s impact — in particular, the influence of currents — on the ice sheet.
“Among the mechanisms that we suspected might be triggering this acceleration are recent changes in ocean circulation in the North Atlantic, which are delivering larger amounts of subtropical waters to the high latitudes,” says Straneo. But a lack of observations and measurements from Greenland’s glaciers prior to the acceleration made it difficult to confirm.
The research team, which included colleagues from University of Maine, conducted two extensive surveys during July and September of 2008, collecting both ship-based and moored oceanographic data from Sermilik Fjord — a large glacial fjord in East Greenland.
Sermilik Fjord, which is 100 kilometers (approximately 62 miles) long, connects Helheim Glacier with the Irminger Sea. In 2003 alone, Helheim Glacier retreated several kilometers and almost doubled its flow speed.
Deep inside the Sermilik Fjord, researchers found subtropical water as warm as 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius). The team also reconstructed seasonal temperatures on the shelf using data collected by 19 hooded seals tagged with satellite-linked temperature depth-recorders. The data revealed that the shelf waters warm from July to December, and that subtropical waters are present on the shelf year round.
“This is the first extensive survey of one of these fjords that shows us how these warm waters circulate and how vigorous the circulation is,” says Straneo. “Changes in the large-scale ocean circulation of the North Atlantic are propagating to the glaciers very quickly — not in a matter of years, but a matter of months. It’s a very rapid communication.”
Straneo adds that the study highlights how little is known about ocean-glacier interactions, which is a connection not currently included in climate models. “We need more continuous observations to fully understand how they work, and to be able to better predict sea-level rise in the future,” says Straneo.
The paper was chosen for advanced online publication Feb. 14, 2010, by Nature Geosciences; it will also appear in the March 2010 printed edition of the journal
Climate ‘Tipping Points’ May Arrive Without Warning, Says Top Forecaster
Icebergs breaking off from the Dawes Glacier in the Endicott Arm
A new University of California, Davis, study by a top ecological forecaster says it is harder than experts thought to predict when sudden shifts in Earth’s natural systems will occur — a worrisome finding for scientists trying to identify the tipping points that could push climate change into an irreparable global disaster.
“Many scientists are looking for the warning signs that herald sudden changes in natural systems, in hopes of forestalling those changes, or improving our preparations for them,” said UC Davis theoretical ecologist Alan Hastings. “Our new study found, unfortunately, that regime shifts with potentially large consequences can happen without warning — systems can ‘tip’ precipitously.
“This means that some effects of global climate change on ecosystems can be seen only once the effects are dramatic. By that point returning the system to a desirable state will be difficult, if not impossible.”
The current study focuses on models from ecology, but its findings may be applicable to other complex systems, especially ones involving human dynamics such as harvesting of fish stocks or financial markets.
Scientists widely agree that global climate change is already causing major environmental effects, such as changes in the frequency and intensity of precipitation, droughts, heat waves and wildfires; rising sea level; water shortages in arid regions; new and larger pest outbreaks afflicting crops and forests; and expanding ranges for tropical pathogens that cause human illness.
And they fear that worse is in store. As U.S. presidential science adviser John Holdren recently told a congressional committee: “Climate scientists worry about ‘tipping points’ … thresholds beyond which a small additional increase in average temperature or some associated climate variable results in major changes to the affected system.”
Among the tipping points Holdren listed were: the complete disappearance of Arctic sea ice in summer, leading to drastic changes in ocean circulation and climate patterns across the whole Northern Hemisphere; acceleration of ice loss from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, driving rates of sea-level increase to 6 feet or more per century; and ocean acidification from carbon dioxide absorption, causing massive disruption in ocean food webs.
US donates five patrol boats to Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency
Last week, the United States government donated five maritime interdiction patrol boats to Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency (MSA), significantly enhancing the agency’s coastal interdiction and patrol capabilities.
The United States officially donated the 13-meter (42-foot) Fast Patrol Boats to Rear Admiral Khan, MSA Director General, during a hand-over ceremony in Karachi this past Saturday. The event was attended by Mr. Steve Fakan, U.S. Consul General to Karachi, and more than a dozen US. and Pakistani military representatives, says a press release.
Each of the new vessels are equipped with two 565-horsepower Caterpillar diesel engines that enable them to operate in inclement weather up to 300 nautical miles offshore with a maximum speed of 72+ KPH (45+ MPH). Known as Fast Patrol Boats, they greatly increase the MSA’s ability to patrol Pakistan’s coastal waters and conduct a wide range of maritime operations.
The US. government will donate four more Fast Patrol Boats to the MSA later this year. In total, the nine boats and spare parts are valued at approximately $10 million.
“These patrol boats are a gift from the United States to support Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency to assist them in their critical mission as they protect and serve the people of Pakistan,” said United States Brig. Gen. Nagata. “Whether it’s search and rescue, combating smugglers, preventing crime or protecting Pakistan’s coastal areas, we hope the increased capabilities these boats provide greatly enhance the MSA’s ability to conduct the full spectrum of maritime operations.”
During the last three years, U.S. civilian and security assistance to Pakistan has totalled more than $4 billion. Assistance provided and delivered has included support for medical aid school refurbishment, bridge and well reconstruction, food distribution, agricultural and education projects, 14 F-16 fighter aircraft, 10 Mi-17 helicopters, more than 450 vehicles for Pakistan’s Frontier Corps, hundreds of night vision goggles, day/night scopes, radios, and thousands of protective vests and first-aid items for Pakistan’s security forces. In addition, the US. funded and provided training for more than 370 Pakistani military officers.
Beyond the Abyss: Deep Sea Creatures Build Their Homes from Materials That Sink from Near the Ocean Surface
Evidence from the Challenger Deep -- the deepest surveyed point in the world's oceans -- suggests that tiny single-celled creatures called foraminifera living at extreme depths of more than ten kilometres build their homes using material that sinks down from near the ocean surface.
Evidence from the Challenger Deep — the deepest surveyed point in the world’s oceans — suggests that tiny single-celled creatures called foraminifera living at extreme depths of more than ten kilometres build their homes using material that sinks down from near the ocean surface.
The Challenger Deep is located in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean. It lies in the hadal zone beyond the abyssal zone, and plunges down to a water depth of around 11 kilometres.
“The hadal zone extends from around six kilometres to the deepest seafloor. Although the deepest parts of the deepest trenches are pretty inhospitable environments, at least for some types of organism, certain kinds of foraminifera are common in the bottom sediments,” said Professor Andrew Gooday of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS) and member of a UK-Japanese team studying these organisms in samples collected during a Japan-USA-Korea expedition to study life in the western depression of the Challenger Deep.
The researchers, whose findings appear in the latest issue of the journal Deep Sea Research, used the remotely operated vehicle KAIKO, operated by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), to take core samples from the soft sediment of the trench floor. Among many foraminiferans with an organic shell (or ‘test’), they found four undescribed specimens with agglutinated tests.
“The Challenger Deep is an extreme environment for agglutinated foraminifera, which construct their tests from a wide range of particles cemented together by calcareous or organic matter,” said Gooday. “At these great depths, particles made from biologically formed calcite and silica, as well as minerals such as quartz, should dissolve, leaving only clay grains available for test building.”
“Our observations demonstrate that coccoliths, and probably also planktonic foraminiferan tests, reach the Challenger Deep intact,” said Gooday. “These particles were probably transported to these extreme depths in rapidly sinking marine snow, the aggregated remains of phytoplankton that lived in the sunlit surface ocean, or in faecal pellets from zooplankton.”
It seems likely, therefore, that at least some agglutinated foraminifera living at extreme hadal depths build their homes from material that sinks down from the ocean above, rather like manna from heaven.
This study was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the OCEANS 2025 Strategic Research Programme of the UK Natural Environment Research Council.
The Chinese Threat Below
Chinese Song class diesel electric submarine
Recently, the Taiwanese Navy detected an unidentified submarine outside one of its major naval bases. Ships and helicopters pursued the contact, but the suspected submarine left the area. A Chinese boat was suspected, mainly because for the last decade, Chinese subs have increasingly been showing up close to Japan and South Korea as well.
Two years ago, Japan increased anti-submarine patrols in international waters, just outside Japanese territorial waters. Chinese submarines were apparently exercising there more frequently, looking for Japanese, South Korean and American warships to play tag with. The U.S. has also redirected more of its space based naval search capabilities to assist the Japanese.
Chinese Song class diesel electric and Han class nuclear powered boats have been detected and tracked with increasing frequency over the last few years. In that time, one of each of these was spotted stalking the American carrier USS George Washington, as it headed to South Korea for a visit.
China is rapidly acquiring advanced submarine building capabilities, and providing money (for fuel and spare parts) to send its subs to sea more often. Moreover, new classes of boats are constantly appearing. The new Type 39A, or Yuan class, looks just like the Russian Kilo class. In the late 1990s, the Chinese began ordering Russian Kilo class subs, then one of the latest diesel-electric design available.
Russia was selling new Kilos for about $200 million each, which is about half the price other Western nations sell similar boats for. The Kilos weigh 2,300 tons (surface displacement), have six torpedo tubes and a crew of 57. They are quiet, and can travel about 700 kilometers under water at a quiet speed of about five kilometers an hour. Kilos carry 18 torpedoes or SS-N-27 anti-ship missiles (with a range of 300 kilometers and launched underwater from the torpedo tubes.) The combination of quietness and cruise missiles makes Kilo very dangerous to American carriers. North Korea and Iran have also bought Kilos.
The Chinese have already built two Yuans, the second one an improvement on the first. These two boats have been at sea to try out the technology that was pilfered from the Russians. A third Yuan is under construction, and it also appears to be a bit different from the first two. The first Yuan appeared to be a copy of the early model Kilo (the model 877), while the second Yuan (referred to as a Type 39B) appeared to copy the late Kilos (model 636). The third Yuan may end up being a further evolution, or Type 39C.
Preceding the Yuans was the Type 39, or Song class. This was the first Chinese sub to have the teardrop shaped hull, and was based on the predecessor of the Kilo, the Romeo class. The Type 39A was thought to be just an improved Song, but on closer examination, especially by the Russians, it looked like a clone of the Kilos. The Yuan class also have AIP (Air Independent Propulsion), which allows non-nuclear boats to stay underwater for days at a time. China currently has 13 Song class, 12 Kilo class, two Yuan class and 25 Romeo class boats. There are only three Han class SSNs, as the Chinese are still having a lot of problems with nuclear power in subs. Despite that, the Hans are going to sea, even though they are noisy and easily detected by Western sensors.
In A NATO First, France Agrees to Sell Warship to Russia
If completed, France’s sale of Mistral-class LHDs to Russia would be the first such agreement between a NATO member and Russia. (French MoD photo)
French defense officials say France has agreed to sell Russia a technologically advanced battleship and is considering a request to sell Moscow three more. If the sale is completed, it would be the first such arms sale between Russia and a member of NATO.
News of the sale has raised concern among other NATO members and some of Russia’s neighbors, especially Georgia, which fought a war with Russia in 2008.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy approved the sale of the Mistral-class assault ship after months of discussions.
Jacques de Lajugie, of the French arms agency DGA, said Russian naval officials have now submitted a request for three more ships, and that the request is “being examined.”
David Darchiashvili, the chairman of the Georgian parliament’s Committee for European Integration, said the planned sale is “a matter of concern for Russia’s immediate neighbors and I think it should be a matter of concern more broadly, in the context of regional stability, balance, and security. And this has to be the subject of discussions for NATO and EU member states.”
He added that he expects many countries in the region will object. “In Russia’s hands this weapon is not just an ordinary one, as it would be in the case of any peaceful country that was concerned about its own security and defense,” he said. “I expect that there will be a lot of objections to that [deal], and not just on our part.”
Lithuania wrote to France in November asking for clarification of the situation and details of the ship’s ammunition.
Offensive Capabilities
The Mistral is able to anchor in coastal waters and deploy troops on land, a capacity the aging Russian Navy lacks. The 200-meter-long ship can also carry 16 attack helicopters and dozens of armored vehicles.
Last year, Russia’s naval chief said a ship like the Mistral would have allowed the Russian Navy to mount a much more efficient action in the Black Sea during the Georgia-Russia war. He said the French ship would take just 40 minutes to do the job that Russian Black Sea Fleet vessels did in 26 hours.
French Defense Minister Herve Morin held a meeting in Paris with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates today and said that France hopes to contribute to European stability.
Morin said he “[understood] that for some Central and Eastern European countries…the wounds are still there,” but added that France “[wants] to develop a relationship of trust with Russia.”
Gates would only say that he and Morin had discussed the sale and had “a good and thorough exchange of views.”
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said U.S. “friends and allies in Eastern Europe are clearly nervous about it, especially Georgia…with good reason.” He added, “They fear these new warships would give Russia additional capabilities to once again threaten Georgia from the Black Sea.”
France rejoined NATO’s military command in 2009 after a 43-year absence. President Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of NATO’s military structure in 1966, saying it undermined France’s sovereignty.
If the sale of four ships is approved, at least two would be built in France, French defense officials told reporters Feb. 9. An initial contract, covering the first ship and worth $500 million to $600 million, could be signed on March 2, when Russian President Dmitri Medvedev is scheduled to make an official visit to France.
United States Dominance in Global Defence Sectors Could Erode
The United States’ dominance of the global defence sectors is likely to be eroded over the coming decade as both Russia and China encroach on formerly assured markets, according to the latest Jane’s Industry Quarterly study: “Crossing Borders: International Defence Industrial Relationships – a Global Perspective.”
Furthermore, the rise of emerging defence equipment exporters – from South Korea and Australia to Pakistan and India – will help shape the world markets during the years to 2020 and challenge the established producers from the West.
IHS Jane’s has identified Southeast Asia, the Gulf states and South America as the principal new frontiers where United States firms and those of China and Russia, in particular, are likely to find themselves competing head to head for arms orders over the coming ten years. The level of direct competition between East and West will be far greater than in previous decades.
Guy Anderson, editor and lead analyst of Jane’s Industry Quarterly explained: “The defence trade relationships of the past two decades were very much shaped along Cold War lines. Those certainties are evaporating. Just as the global security environment is becoming increasingly fluid, so too will patterns of international military sales. “The aggressive military export strategies of Russia, and China to a lesser extent, are likely to pose significant challenges for Western military producers.”
Anderson added: “Russia increased its share of the world market over the last decade through a combination of keen pricing and flexibility, with a willingness to use sovereign debt forgiveness; counter trade; and technology transfer. Most importantly, there is a willingness to use arms sales as a bargaining chip to secure access to energy fields around the world.
“Western firms, on the other hand, will in many cases find themselves hampered by the presence of arms embargoes; technology and equipment export regulations; and the need to align the strategic objectives of national governments with the wishes of shareholders,” concluded Anderson.
Fishing Dispute Looms Between Canada and Denmark
A fishing dispute is heating up between two unlikely countries – Canada and Denmark – over the ownership of Hans Island a tiny barren atoll off the coast of Greenland.
Northern shrimp is at the centre of the dispute.
The Canadian Federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea last week accused Denmark of overfishing in international waters off the coast of Newfoundland, and has issued a warning that vessels from Greenland, which remain a Danish protectorate and the Faroe Islands that they will be barred from Canadian ports unless they agree to adhere to a 334-tonne shrimp quota established under the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) conservation agreement.
A Canadian government spokesman said: “Denmark has “unilaterally” set a 3,100-tonne quota for its Greenlandic and Faroese fleets in the “3L” section of ocean just beyond Canada’s 350-kilometre economic zone, which “sets a dangerous precedent that could impact conservation of the species”.
Hans Island is the smallest of three islands between that part of Canada and Greenland in an area of sea known as the Kennedy Channel. Its sovereignty has been the subject of dispute between Canada and Denmark for some years.
Denmark’s share of the shrimp quota amounts to just one per cent of the total catch allocation, while Canada has 80 per cent of the quota. The Canadian Embassy in Ottawa has so far declined to comment on the warning which could mean that Greenland and Faroese vessels will have to find other countries to land their catches.
